Entry fittings are used in underground sumps to seal the interface between an access opening of the sump and a pipe extending into the sump through the access opening. Entry fittings are designed to prevent the flow of a fluid, such as gasoline, which has leaked into the sump, from entering the surrounding ground, and for preventing the flow of ground water into the sump.
After an entry fitting has been initially installed, the seal eventually ages and takes a compression set. Slight movement of the pipe or thermal expansion and contraction can result in leakage about the seal. When this occurs, conventional entry fittings must be entirely replaced due to the lack of, or the relatively small range of, adjustable sealing force provided by such entry fittings.
There are several conventional entry fitting designs in use. One such entry fitting includes a rubber boot having a planar portion and a tubular portion, the tubular portion being conjoint with and perpendicular to the planar portion. The planar portion is positioned on the exterior of the sump wall and contains bolts which extend through a plurality of holes drilled in the sump and through a compression ring positioned on the interior of the sump wall. Nuts threadedly engage the bolts and pull the planar portion against the exterior of the sump wall.
The tubular portion extends into the sump through the access opening, and is sealingly clamped to the pipe. This type of entry fitting does not allow a range of adjustable sealing force between the planar portion and the sump wall, and requires considerable installation time due to the required drilling of holes, and tightening of the requisite nuts and bolts. Further, if the boot develops a leak, the entire entry fitting must be replaced, since there is not a separate seal separable from the entry fitting. Further, replacement of the entry fitting may necessitate removal of backfill from the exterior of the sump to permit withdrawal and replacement of the boot.
Therefore, it is apparent that the capability to replace an entry fitting or an entry fitting seal without requiring removal of backfill from the exterior of the sump would be desirable. Accordingly, a structure that would prevent backfill from surrounding the exterior of a sump in the area of the entry fitting and that would enable displacement of a portion of the entry fitting into the access space would also be desirable. Moreover, it would be desirable if the access space would allow sufficient displacement of the entry fitting into the access space to allow for the removal of the seal from the entry fitting.